The Future Tense

The Future Tense

by Russell Sabo

In Spanish, when you want to say that somebody will do something, something will happen, or guess at probability, you will use the future tense. You can also express speculation. For English speakers, using the words “will” and “shall” convey the use of the future tense. As with all simple tenses in Spanish, you will not have to add a word to the verb to form the tense (such as “will” or “shall”); you will instead add an ending to the infinitive.

How is the Future Tense Formed?

First, we’ll take the infinitive form of the verb: Hablar (to speak), Comer (to eat), and Vivir (to live).

Add the following endings to the infinitive. Note: All the verbs will receive the same endings, regardless of their AR/ER/IR endings. In this way, the infinitive itself functions as the verb stem. I’ve included the AR/ER/IR conjugations for clarity. Remember that all of the conditional verbs have the accent mark on the í.

Hablar+éis=Hablaréis (you all (informal) will speak), Comer+éis=Comeréis (you all (informal) will eat), Vivir+éis=Viviréis (you all (informal) will live)

Hablar+án=Hablarán (you all (formal) will speak, they (males or a mixed group) will speak, they (all females) will speak)

Comer+án=Comerán (you all (formal) will eat, they (males or a mixed group) will eat, they (all females) will eat)

Vivir+án=Vivirán (you all (formal) will live, they (males or a mixed group) will live, they (all females) will live)

Future Tense and Reflexive Verbs

The reflexive pronoun appears in front of the reflexive verb.

Levantarse – to get up

me levantaré

te levantarás

se levantará

nos levantaremos

os levantaréis

se levantarán

Future Tense and Irregular Verbs

There are 12 irregular verbs in the future tense which are included in 3 patterns. As is normal in the Spanish language, the irregular verbs are always some of the verbs one uses the most. However, because there are only 12, they are easy to memorize. As a bonus, these 12 verbs are also the same 12 irregular verbs in the conditional tense, so once you know these verbs, you’ll also know the conditional tense irregular verbs. Here are the verbs in their respective Pattern families.

Pattern 1

caber – to be contained, to fit / Cabr-

haber – to have (auxiliary verb) / Habr-

poder – to be able, can / Podr-

querer – to want / querr-

saber – to know, to know how / Sabr-

Here is an example conjugation of a Pattern 1 irregular verb in the conditional tense.

Poder – to be able, can

yo podré – I will be able

tú podrás – you will be able

Usted, él, ella podrá – you (formal), he, she will be able

nosotros/as podremos – we will be able

vosotros/as podréis – you all (informal) will be able

Ustedes, ellos, ellas podrán – you all (formal), they (all males or a mixed group), ellas (all females) will be able

Pattern 2

poner – to place, to put / Pondr-

salir – to leave / Saldr-

tener – to have / Tendr-

valer – to be worth / Valdr-

venir – to come / Vendr-

Here is an example conjugation of a Pattern 2 irregular verb in the conditional tense.

Tener – to have

yo tendré – I will have

tú tendrás – you will have

Usted, él, ella tendrá – you (formal), he, she will have

nosotros/as tendremos – we would have

vosotros/as tendréis – you all (informal) will have

Ustedes, ellos, ellas tendrán – you all (formal), they (all males or a mixed group), ellas (all females) will have

Pattern 3

decir – to say, to tell / Dir-

hacer – to do, to make / Har-

Here is an example conjugation of a Pattern 3 irregular verb in the conditional tense.

Decir – to say, to tell

yo diré – I will say, I will tell

tú dirás – you will say, you will tell

Usted, él, ella dirá – you (formal), he, she will say. you (formal), he, she will tell

nosotros/as diremos – we will say, we will tell

vosotros/as diréis – you all (informal) will say, you all (informal) will tell

Ustedes, ellos, ellas dirán – you all (formal), they (all males or a mixed group), ellas (all females) will say. you all (formal), they (all males or a mixed group), they (all females) will tell.

Hay and the Future Tense

When you use the future tense of the word “Hay”, which means “there is” or “there are” you will use the word “Habrá” – there will be.

Habrá más manzanas el año que viene. – There will be more apples next year.

Habrá que saltar del carro. – It will be necessary to jump from the car.

When to Use the Future Tense

First of all, when can the future happen? Or to be more specific, which words can you use to express time in the future? Will it happen tonight? Next week? Next year? Below is a list of expressions of time in the future.

at one, at two in the afternoon – a la una, a las dos de la tarde

in two days – de aquí a dos días

later – luego

later – más tarde

next Tuesday – al martes que viene

next week – la semana que viene

next month – el mes que viene

next year – el año que viene

on Wednesday – el miercoles

the day after tomorrow – pasado mañana

this afternoon – esta tarde

this spring – esta primavera

this summer – este verano

tomorrow – mañana

tomorrow morning – mañana por la mañana

tomorrow afternoon – mañana por la tarde

tomorrow night – mañana por la noche

tonight – esta noche

There are a few situations in which you will use the future tense. Most of the time you will use it when you want to say that you “will do” something (Comeré – I will eat, correrán – they will run, terminaremos – we will finish). This is different from saying that you’re “going to do” something. In that case you will use “voy a + infinitive” (voy a comer – I’m going to eat, van a correr – they’re going to run, vamos a terminar – we’re going to finish). Below I’ve listed the situations in which you will use the future tense.

Future Action/s or States

To say that something will happen or that something or someone will be in a certain state of being, use the future tense.

Tú verás la pelicúla mañana. – You will see the movie tomorrow.

Vosotros estaréis contentos la semana que viene. – You all will be happy next week.

Conjecture, Guessing and Wondering

You can use the future tense to make a guess, to wonder something, and to convey conjecture.

The Future Tense
by Russell Sabo
In Spanish, when you want to say that somebody will do something, something will happen, or guess at probability, you will use the future tense. You can also express speculation. For English speakers, using the words "will" and "shall" convey the use of the future tense. As with all simple ten